Academic denies rumor of new dengue strain

An academic at Mahidol University has brushed aside claims that a new strain of dengue virus has emerged in Asia.

Dr Sutee Yoksan, Director of the Center for Vaccine Development, Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, revealed that vaccines for all four strains of dengue have been developed in France.

The vaccines have already been tested on 30,000 human subjects and no negative reactions were detected. They are currently undergoing the registration process and are expected to be used in Thailand for the first time next year.

On the other hand, Dr Sutee denied an online report that a new strain of dengue was recently discovered in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. He pointed out that, in fact, the case was found in a monkey eight years ago and the virus was of the type that could not be transmitted to humans.